John Gaudiosi
, ContributorI've been covering video games, Hollywood and technology for 20 yearsOpinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

COLOGNE, GERMANY -- Pro gaming fans know Mike “Hastr0” Rufail well. The former Call of Duty: Black Ops pro gamer has kept busy since retiring from competitive eSports. Rufail remains active as the owner and coach of Black Ops Team EnVyUs and co-hose of Call of Duty Elite’s “Friday Night Fights” TV show. Over the past six months, Rufail has been working closely with developer Treyarch on its extensive integration plans to make eSports a major focus of Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops II multiplayer.

At Gamescom 2012 in Cologne, Rufail took the stage to demonstrate some of the innovative ways that Treyarch is developing Black Ops II to make it a big part of eSports in 2013 and beyond. The caster gave a play-by-play of a live match in front of a packed international media audience to demonstrate how CODCasting is a major part of the new game.

“Every part of this game has been designed to bring eSports into the mainstream,” said Rufail. “On the screen, a score panel shows the score and time limit for the match. It’s our way of relaying this to sports, so spectators can immediately see the score and time left in the game like any real sport. The bottom lower left side of the screen features name plates. In a first-person shooter, you can’t see the players, so this is the equivalent of have a player’s name on a jersey.”

Rufail utilized the new overhead map view during the live CODCasting, which allows the audience to see where the teams are set up to get insight on players’ locations on the map. He said this new perspective helps CODCasters to figure out where the action is about to occur and makes the game fun to watch as you see both teams moving against each other. Aspiring CODCasters can load up previous matches in Theater mode and then cast them after they’ve been played.

“The new Picture-in-Picture mode is very robust and informational,” said Rufail. “You can derive a lot of information about the game here. There’s an objective column, so in a Capture the Flag game, a flag icon shows up next to the player so you know he has it. A bomb icon shows up in a Search & Destroy game. This feature is very informational, providing lots of combinations to present the game to the audience with Picture-in-Picture.”

Another eSports feature is the Listen In mode. Rufail said competitive COD players have communication that separates them from other teams. This chatter can be very emotional and offer insight into the strategizing that goes on at the professional level. He said it brings players into the huddle to hear what they competitors are saying and enables aspiring gamers a chance to learn pros’ tactics.

Treyarch Game Design Director David Vonderhaar worked hand-in-hand with Rufail on the development of these new features.

“There’s a tremendous opportunity to bring eSports to the masses and Black Ops II is the game to do it,” said Vonderhaar. “We need to make Black Ops II a sport and to do that we need to create an arena, have a high production value and give players and team owners a way to excel through innovative color commentary.”

Treyarch will introduce League Play in Black Ops II, which Vonderhaar said is way to level the playing field and make competition fun at any level. As gamers play, Treyarch will ensure that players are placed in a division with other players of equal skill. As players continue to win, they’ll rank up.

“This is an entirely new way to play and think about playing,” said Vonderhaar. “It’s been designed for all players, not just the top 2 percent of pro gamers. The mode is simple to enter, you just go in, select a play list and get going. That’s Call of Duty as a sport.”

LiveStreaming has allowed eSports to bring an instant global audience to gamers. This will be built into Black Ops II, which will allow anyone to partake in always on broadcasting. Activision had German models showing a live multiplayer match livestreamed on iPads throughout the press conference. The feature is as simple as pushing the “On” button to start the livestream. An optional USB camera gives gamers a picture-in-picture window of who they’re watching play. Although gamers will need good upstream bandwidth, they won’t need expensive software or a high-end PC to jump into the livestreaming game.

Another feature that’s tailor made for eSports is the new Multi-Team Mode. For the first time in COD history, gamers can play up to six teams at once. Up to 18 players can play, including 3 on 3 on 3 or 4 on 4 on 4. Vonderhaar said this mode brings small group squad-based tactics back into the game. The six factions include Navy SEALs, SDC, FBI as well as Mercs, ISA, and militia.